Fabled Foes of Albion II

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Find out what the hobbe and balverine will be like when you encounter them in Lionhead's role-playing adventure

By IGN Staff

Lionhead Studios' Fable: The Lost Chapters is the PC adaptation of its million-selling Xbox role-playing adventure that shipped last September. Among the enhancements and additions are expanded content, more customization possibilities, new story lines, further side quests and improved graphics. The underlying game design follows your hero through an uncommonly long span, from the innocence of childhood to old age and immense power. During this time, you define your character through your actions. Focusing on close combat produces larger muscles. Concentrating on speed and stealth makes you quicker and more accurate, and magic users gain visible indications of their powers.

Another decision you'll face is whether to take the path of righteousness or evil. In either case, your avatar reflects the consequences in a visible physical manner. In concert with this, the gameworld is said to react accordingly. For instance, NPCs become aware of your successes and failures, enabling them to comment accordingly as well as about your appearance and behavior. Their feelings may be expressed in various ways, ranging from praise to mockery, apprehension, outright fear and even flirtation. To coincide with the computer edition shipping this week, we have the chance to look at some of Albion's creatures.

Includes two exclusive 1280x1024 screenshots

Hobbe Hobbes are nasty, brutish, short creatures with small beady eyes and a wardrobe scavenged from the dead. They prefer the shadowy depths of the earth to open ground, but will sally forth to drag unsuspecting travelers to their meaty doom once gathered in sufficient numbers.

Hobbe

Some hobbes are gifted with natural magical abilities, and able to channel energy through crude wooden staffs fashioned from hawthorn. Hobbes are rarely encountered alone, so area effect and multiple target spells like Enflame and Lightning are particularly valuable if they leap on you.

Balverine In the dark places of the world, balverines gather in shadows, yellow eyes blinking, snouts lifted to the air seeking the scent of fresh meat. Few know the origins of these creatures, though their numbers appear to rise as the numbers of foresters dwindle. Most who catch a glimpse of their lank black shaggy coats, and yellow-toothed muzzles are too busy running (or being dead) to give details of their encounter.

Balverine

Apparently, there are things worse than balverines... creatures with white fur that cannot be slain with normal weapons, and their cousins, grey-furred, and slinking around the icy Northern Wastes. Balverines are fast, agile, and very persistent. Kill them quickly, and stay alert!